Warfarin-Like Drug Can Reverse Tamoxifen Defiance in Breast Cancer

Cancer is one of the diseases that is well known for evading treatment as well as developing resistance to drugs. Cancer-cells that are resistant to drugs and treatment are dangerous as they are able to spread throughout the patient’s body. This fact has become a huge challenge in the pursuit of getting a remission. This has been the case for breast cancer patients who are put under treatment using tamoxifen as they develop resistance to it. This makes the cancer to come back and consequently they are forced to use other drugs to attain remission. All this was revealed in a recent article published on Oncotarget. Read more about Oncotarget at Google Scholar.

Scientists Discovery

Scientists focused on finding out whether the tamoxifen resistance was closely associated with mitochondria. They found out that a protein, NQ01, triggers the decision in a cancer cell whether it survives the treatment or not. Michael P. Lisanti, MD, PhD. stated that the process of using tamoxifen in poisoning the cancerous cell brings about the opposite effect. This treatment method instead stimulates cancer cells to respond by way of revving their engines to ensure survival. The study further sought to find out the genes that are involved with the drug resistance. When the NQ01 was added to the cells, it allowed them to survive.

Findings

In order for this theory to be fool-proof, the cells that developed a resistance to tamoxifen were confronted with a NQ01 inhibitor. The drug used, dicoumarol, is also a vitamin K adversary just like warfarin. Using this inhibitor showed the reversal of the drug-resistant cancer cells. These new findings offer a ray of hope to breast cancer patients who show any signs of resistance to tamoxifen treatment.

About Oncotarget

Oncotarget refers to a global peer-reviewed journal that focuses mainly on different cancers, potential therapy targets as well as treatment protocols. It also focuses on the impact felt by management programs and new therapeutic protocols and agents on patients’ adherence, quality of life and satisfaction. The journal also seeks to explore the evidence brought forward to justify the fresh as well as existing therapies in improving the outcomes and defining their usage by the health care professionals and patients. The journal has an impact factor of 2.272 and for five years it stands at 2.235. Learn more about Oncotarget at researchgate.net